Cabo Inspired Tacos
Last week, I went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with my cousin, my
sister-in-law and my baby niece.... the first of MANY girls trips I hope
to take with my beautiful niece! I hadn't been out of the country
since before having kids, so it was definitely hard on my emotionally to
leave my husband and my boys behind for a week and be pretty much out
of touch with the world. The wifi was spotty and unreliable and the
cell phone service (that I paid $60 for) wasn't that great either. So, I
left my phone in my condo on many occasions to just ENJOY everything.
To enjoy the boat rides, the fishing trips, napping in the sun by the pool, reading three (yes THREE) books and just LIVING! One night, we went into the downtown area of Cabo. My sister-in-law had seen this "locals-only" looking hole in the wall taco joint that she was DYING to try. Me? I was a little more skeptical and reserved... no one spoke English and I don't speak Spanish... who knows what they were going to end up feeding us?
What did they feed us? Only the best tacos I have ever eaten... in.. my.. life. They were pork tacos and the pork was made on a rotating cooker similar to those I have seen at Gyro places. That meat was so flavorful and tender and delicious that I think I dreamed about it that night!! Our server brought us our tacos within minutes or ordering them, there were two corn shells, topped with the pork, a handful of finely chopped cilantro (um, yum!) and some kind of sauce (it had a little kick and it was red, that is all I know... see I told you I didn't know what they were feeding us!) The rest of the toppings were in this little salad bar looking thing in the middle of the room. I added shredded cabbage, pickled onions, and pico de gallo, with a dollop of guacamole on the side. Let's talk about the guac for a second... it was like they put it in a foot processor and it was AMAZING. I don't know how else to describe it... so creamy and delicious!
The whole package was like a taste explosion in my mouth and the second I was done eating them, I was instantly sad that they were gone and thought about ordering more. Immediately, the food side of my brain started working on how I could recreate these at home.
Well, ladies and gentlemen... I did it!! It might not be EXACT (cause really, who can cook meat like that at home?!) but it was pretty darn close! Check it out, side by side. On the left are the tacos from Cabo, and the right, mine at home in FL.
They weren't complicated to make, just make sure you follow these directions and you can thank me later!
First you are going to prepare your pork. I cooked my in my crock pot. (LOVE that thing!) I used a 4 lb pork shoulder. I used a homemade rub and put it in the crock pot with a 1/4 cup of water to cook on high for about 5 hours. At the end of cook time, I used two forks to shred the meat and it was ready for tacos.
While I was preparing all of my toppings, I used my hand mixer/emulsifier to get my guacamole to the correct consistency. (recipe below)
For my at home tacos, I layered as so:
White corn tortilla (store bought, I am not trying to make my own!), pork, cilantro, salsa, sprinkle of cheese, onions (I did not pickle mine), romaine lettuce and guac.
Eat. Savor. Enjoy.
Pork Recipe
Guacamole Recipe
I hope that you enjoy these as much as I did! :)
Don't forget to follow me on social media for more great clean eating tips, motivation, and fitness inspiration!
To enjoy the boat rides, the fishing trips, napping in the sun by the pool, reading three (yes THREE) books and just LIVING! One night, we went into the downtown area of Cabo. My sister-in-law had seen this "locals-only" looking hole in the wall taco joint that she was DYING to try. Me? I was a little more skeptical and reserved... no one spoke English and I don't speak Spanish... who knows what they were going to end up feeding us?
What did they feed us? Only the best tacos I have ever eaten... in.. my.. life. They were pork tacos and the pork was made on a rotating cooker similar to those I have seen at Gyro places. That meat was so flavorful and tender and delicious that I think I dreamed about it that night!! Our server brought us our tacos within minutes or ordering them, there were two corn shells, topped with the pork, a handful of finely chopped cilantro (um, yum!) and some kind of sauce (it had a little kick and it was red, that is all I know... see I told you I didn't know what they were feeding us!) The rest of the toppings were in this little salad bar looking thing in the middle of the room. I added shredded cabbage, pickled onions, and pico de gallo, with a dollop of guacamole on the side. Let's talk about the guac for a second... it was like they put it in a foot processor and it was AMAZING. I don't know how else to describe it... so creamy and delicious!
The whole package was like a taste explosion in my mouth and the second I was done eating them, I was instantly sad that they were gone and thought about ordering more. Immediately, the food side of my brain started working on how I could recreate these at home.
Well, ladies and gentlemen... I did it!! It might not be EXACT (cause really, who can cook meat like that at home?!) but it was pretty darn close! Check it out, side by side. On the left are the tacos from Cabo, and the right, mine at home in FL.
They weren't complicated to make, just make sure you follow these directions and you can thank me later!
First you are going to prepare your pork. I cooked my in my crock pot. (LOVE that thing!) I used a 4 lb pork shoulder. I used a homemade rub and put it in the crock pot with a 1/4 cup of water to cook on high for about 5 hours. At the end of cook time, I used two forks to shred the meat and it was ready for tacos.
While I was preparing all of my toppings, I used my hand mixer/emulsifier to get my guacamole to the correct consistency. (recipe below)
For my at home tacos, I layered as so:
White corn tortilla (store bought, I am not trying to make my own!), pork, cilantro, salsa, sprinkle of cheese, onions (I did not pickle mine), romaine lettuce and guac.
Eat. Savor. Enjoy.
Pork Recipe
- 4-5lb Pork roast (picnic or shoulder works just fine) with Rub below
- 4 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp sea salt (I use a little less)
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like it SPICY, less if not)
- Put 1/4 c of water in crock pot and set to HIGH.
- In a gallon ziploc baggie, combine all of the rub ingredients and mix.
- Add roast to the baggie and zip closed.
- Shake, rattle and roll until entire roast is covered with rub.
- Put roast in crock pot and discard the remainder rub and baggie.
Guacamole Recipe
- 2 ripe avocados
- fresh cilantro - amount depends on how much you LOVE cilantro, I use a nice full handful
- the juice of 1 lime
- salt, to taste
- Put all ingredients in a bowl.
- Mash with a fork until thoroughly mixed, if you like it chunky. If you like it smooth, use a hand blender/emulsifier until smooth and creamy.
I hope that you enjoy these as much as I did! :)
Don't forget to follow me on social media for more great clean eating tips, motivation, and fitness inspiration!
- www.facebook.com/fitmomjoslin
- IG - @fitmomjoslin
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